Sydney news

The Warrumbungle Shire says some of its smaller towns are at risk of losing a police presence and wants extra officers recruited to address the issue.

Leigh and Geoff Coggins' garden is a mixture of formal areas, rare plants, and relaxing spaces, and this weekend it will be open to visitors.

The Federal Government gives mining giant Adani re-approval to build the massive Carmichael coal mine, subject to "36 of the strictest conditions in Australian history".

The long-awaited report on council amalgamations is being delivered to the New South Wales Government.

Scientists examine the DNA of a population of threatened Western Australian wallabies found in a remote gorge at Kalbarri National Park, an area they were previously thought extinct.

Arsonists are being monitored and fire fighters are on high alert, as Victorian authorities prepare for dangerous bushfire season facing the state.

The Premier Mike Baird has posted a message to Newcastle on his Facebook page, saying the days of talk and no action in the city are over with the coming of light rail.

Thirty years since Uluru was handed back to traditional owners, tensions remain between Western and Indigenous ideas of how the World Heritage-listed area is managed.

There has been a fatal accident between a truck and a car on the M1 Pacific Motorway near Newcastle, which could affect traffic travelling in both directions.

Hunter Valley brumby advocates are behind a push to ban horse riding challenges, involving catching wild horses.

The Anglican Diocese of Newcastle has revealed a now dead priest, who once worked across the Hunter region, was a paedophile.

Fire crews will attempt to contain a bushfire burning at Geeveston in the state's south after Thursday's record high temperatures.

The Premier, Mike Baird, has told councils the next 12 months will see much change occur in the local government sector.

The town where Indigenous dot painting began survived a dark period as the "carpetbagging capital of the desert" and is now experiencing a resurgence, with women at the helm.

It has been revealed Wagga Wagga City Council lost faith in its General Manager after a damning audit report on the $2.5m council loan to Douglas Aerospace.

Converting Hobart's Hunter Street School of Art to a hotel would create a world class tourism hospitality precinct, the Tasmanian tourism sector says.

The Northern Territory's Minister for Primary Industry has directed his department to investigate the pros and cons of allowing NT farmers to grow industrial hemp.

A man hit by an out-of-control car while walking his dog on a footpath in Melbourne's outer-east fights for life in hospital.

A second former manager of a notorious Newcastle motel has spoken out, rejecting claims by housing officials that no families with children were placed there.

Two townhouses left teetering on the edge of a 15-metre-deep pit after a construction site collapsed in Melbourne's east in July are still uninhabitable, with one earmarked for partial demolition.

A group of Port Stephens volunteers has won a national award, recognising their bravery during a dramatic sea rescue.

Woodside Petroleum's Peter Coleman is maintaining that his company's $11.65 billion bid for Oil Search is "very competitive".

More information has been revealed about the use of firefighting foam by the Department of Defence, at a time when Port Stephens residents are grappling with a toxic leak from older versions of the product.

The news, traffic and weather to get you up to speed.

Collette Dinnigan has celebrated the scalping of her designs for Aldi online, claiming it just proves the designs are great value, even at twice the price.

Any poker machines allowed at the new Canberra Casino should be for the use of international tourists only, Canberra's clubs say.

Legislation is introduced to South Australia's Parliament to dramatically alter the power of the Upper House over the passage of the budget.

Two New Zealand navy ships will spend the weekend docked in Newcastle harbour.

Israeli Prime Minister suggests US would also respond with force if people were "rushing into crowds trying to murder people".

A Newcastle family law expert is concerned Australia's first disclosure scheme of domestic violence perpetrators will give women a false sense of security.

Watch the latest episode of Showtime's "Homeland" — a series that's receivedawards and accolades but also criticism over its portrayal of the Middle East and Muslims — and you'll spot some interesting graffiti in the background.

Denmark is a land of delightful fairy tales and modish wood furniture, but it's once again the target of international opprobrium over its treatment of zoo animals.

There has been a serious accident between a truck and a car on the M1 Pacific Motorway near Newcastle, which could affect traffic travelling in both directions.

Our live morning blog, keeping you in the know on the way to work, school or wherever you're headed today.

Federal prosecutors say a Maryland man who offered national-security commentary on Fox News has been charged with fraud for falsely claiming a CIA career.

Latham finally admitted to being the mysterious Twitter troll also known as @RealMarkLatham, who had made disparaging remarks to Rosie Batty, Catherine McGregor and other prominent women

Citigroup reported a 51 per cent jump in quarterly profit as lower costs more than made up for a fall in revenue.

Harvey Schwartz says still more time is needed for Goldman to bolster its fixed-income trading revenue.

Chinese stocks rose to an eight-week high on speculation policy makers will accelerate reforms of state-owned companies.

The Queenslander will now be seeded for the first time at the Australian Open.

The US will halt its military withdrawal and instead keep thousands of troops in Afghanistan, prolonging the US role in a war that has now stretched on for 14 years.

​Goldman's head of commodities research Jeff Currie does not see the price of oil breaking above $US50 a barrel in the next year.

Photo opportunities with children are usually a chance for politicians to show off their gentle side, but not so for London's colourful mayor Boris Johnson.

Shares in insurance giant, IAG, soared on Thursday. No profit upgrade, no takeover stalkers, in fact no action at all. Rather it was rewarded for its decision not to spend money on acquiring a business in China.

A ceasefire deal in Myanmar will fall short of its nationwide billing, with seven of the nation's 15 armed groups declining to take part amid ongoing distrust of Myanmar's semi-civilian government and its still-powerful military.

The Democratic presidential candidates have thrust gun control forward as a dominant issue for the national election, crystallising a sea change in the politics of a controversial subject often avoided by recent Democratic nominees.

US military will provide intelligence to a multinational task force being set up to fight Boko Haram.

Richard Linklater has dropped out too. What will happen to The Rosie Project now?

Watch the latest episode of Showtime's "Homeland" — a series that's receivedawards and accolades but also criticism over its portrayal of the Middle East and Muslims — and you'll spot some interesting graffiti in the background.

Time to go, says funnyman Stephen Fry.